Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Washington DC on 24 September. The aim of the visit is to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries and to discuss topical foreign policy themes, focusing on questions relating to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.

At its 65th General Conference, the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA elected Finland to the IAEA Board of Governors for a two-year term from September 2021 to September 2023 with a possible extension for a third year.

The UN Food Systems Summit will be held virtually on 23 September during the UN General Assembly in New York. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari, in his role as the World Food Programme’s School Meals Champion, will speak at the event on school meals.

Minister Ville Skinnari will visit Lisbon on 21–24 September 2021. The aim of the visit is to strengthen the commercial relations between Finland and Portugal. Portugal offers significant opportunities for Finnish companies in such areas as bioeconomy and circular economy, energy, climate and digital transitions.

The high-level meetings of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) will start in New York on Monday 20 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with his counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland at several high-level meetings held in virtual format during the week.

The government proposal on the introduction of a long-term national D visa in Finland promotes labour migration and includes the preparation of a fast track pledge. According to the proposal, the national D visa would first cover specialists, growth or start-up entrepreneurs and their family members.

The Government has appointed Mikko Koivumaa as Director General of Communications at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs starting on 18 October 2021. The term of office will be five years. Koivumaa is currently Director of Communications at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Finland will strengthen the capacity to receive visa applications in Russia starting on 1 October 2021. As of that date, Finland's Visa Application Centres in Russia will accept applications from business customers and from all applicants whose multiple-entry Schengen visa, issued by Finland for at least two years, has expired.

Finland is coordinating the cooperation between the Nordic countries and Baltic states in the Nordic–Baltic Eight (NB8) format in 2021. The NB8 foreign ministers’ meeting will be held on 15 September at Vanajanlinna, Hämeenlinna. The NB8 countries and the Visegrád Group (V4) will have a joint meeting at foreign ministerial level on the previous day, 14 September. The V4 countries are Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The Nordic Ministers for Cooperation will meet under the leadership of Minister Thomas Blomqvist in Mariehamn 13-14 September 2021. At the meeting, the ministers will prepare the Nordic Council of Ministers’ budget for 2022 and explore the state of the Nordic freedom of movement when they meet the Freedom of Movement Council. The fourth ministerial meeting during the Finnish Presidency will be held in close cooperation with the Åland Islands and will be part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary as an autonomous region.